What is ZPD and what are the implications of ZPD for teaching?

ISSN: 2581-8651 Vol-4, Issue-3, May-Jun 2022 https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/jhed.4.3.29 Peer-Reviewed Journal

Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED)

What is ZPD and what are the implications of ZPD for teaching?

Di Wang School of Foreign Studies of Yangtze University, Hubei, China.

Received: 03 Jun 2022; Received in revised form: 20 Jun 2022; Accepted: 26 Jun 2022 ©2022 The Author(s). Published by TheShillonga. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Abstract Sociocultural theory was established by Vygotsky, and it analyzes the social and cultural attributes of the development mechanism of human psychological function based on the view of development and history (Xi, 2020). Vygotsky divided human psychological function into low-level psychological function as the result of biological evolution and high-level psychological function formed by the development of social culture and history. Focusing on the development of high-level psychological function of individuals, Vygotsky put forward three core concepts: internalization, mediation and zone of proximal development (ZPD). In this article, one of the core concepts, ZPD, will be discussed.

Keywords— ZPD, teaching, social culture and history.

I.

WHAT IS ZPD?

perspective of conceptualization, “i+1” refers to passive

In 1930s, Vygotsky first put forward the concept of

input while ZPD emphasizes on collaborative activities.

ZPD (The Zone of Proximal Development, ZPD) in the field

Besides, there are fundamental differences between ZPD

of child psychology, which refers to “the distance between

and “i+1” on the basis of philosophy. ZPD holds that the

the

by

development of human advanced psychological function

independent problem solving and the level of potential

originates from the interaction between individuals and

development as determined through problem solving under

others and tools in social communication activities; “I + 1”

adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”

belongs to metaphysics, which holds that development itself

(Vygotsky, 1978). He believes that there are two levels of

is spontaneously produced by learners. Furthermore, in

students’ development: one is the existing level of students,

terms of process, “i+1” emphasizes the process of language

which refers to the level of problem-solving that can be

acquisition, but ZPD refers to collaboration to accomplish a

achieved when acting independently; the other is the

specific task. “I+1” focuses on language and hypothesizes

possible development level of students, that is, the potential

that every language learner has the same language

obtained through teaching. The difference between the two

acquisition device. The “I” and “1” in “I+1” theory are

levels is called ZPD.

abstract and cannot be predicted (Xi, 2020). As for ZPD,

actual

developmental level

as determined

since it is based on the collaborative activities between the II.

IS IT SAME AS THE “I+1” THEORY?

Gifford & Mullaney analogized the “ZPD” to “I + 1”

learners and the experts, the learners’ ability can be expected individually.

theory, and described an educational example of interaction between learners (Wen, 2019). However, these two concepts

III.

IS IT SAME AS THE “SCAFFOLDING”?

have been proved to be different by more examples

In the past, I used to classify the concept of

(Schinke-Llano, 1993; de Guerrero, 1996; Dunn & Lantolf,

“scaffolding” under the sociocultural theory, because

1998; Thorne, 2000; quoted from Wen, 2019). From the

scaffolding and the ZPD more or less reflect the same

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Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED) 4(3)-2022

process. Scaffolding is derived from an architectural

natural phenomenon, it comes from the individual’s

metaphor. The ZPD is grounded in an agricultural metaphor

adaptation to social culture (Quoted from Chen, 2015).

in which the buds and flowers of fruit-bearing trees mature

Therefore, construction is difficult to become a pure

as they are tended by growers. The two concepts are very

individual behavior. The process of learning can be regarded

different metaphors. Xi & Lantolf (2020) pointed out that

as a meaningful social negotiation between mature and

scaffolding was limited to face-to-face interaction, failed to

immature individuals using cultural tools. ZPD is a

take full account of context, and features task fluency and

framework for integrating individuals and society, and it is

independent performance as its goal, while the ZPD

also a social psychological space for leaners to connect with

encompassed face-to-face interaction but also extended to

others, which is an appropriate place for education.

domains such as play and even interaction with texts, was

4.3 Dynamic Assessment

clearly focused on development over task fluency, and saw

In ZPD, children’s ability is divided into actual ability

context as a crucial factor in shaping development.

and potential ability, and the latter more determines the achievements that individuals can achieve in future learning.

IV.

IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE

Nevertheless, potential ability cannot be displayed

TEACHING

independently. Therefore, the measurement of potential

The “development” in the concept of ZPD means

ability should pay attention to the process and provide

changes in psychological structure rather than the progress

necessary help so that the potential ability can be reflected.

in knowledge and skills (Chen, 2015). It is essential for

A completed assessment should include actual ability and

educators to understand that the progress in knowledge and

potential ability evaluation. As language teachers, we

skills is surface development. Learning knowledge and

should shift from focusing only on the actual ability of

skills is the way to change psychological structure. Only

individuals to paying attention to both actual ability and

with the change of psychological structure can individuals

potential ability, and from focusing only on the results of

achieve real development (Zhong, 2018). So, the language

learning to paying attention to the results and process of

teachers are expected to figure out ways to trigger students’

learning at the same time, which is helpful to improve the

motivation so that they can internalized knowledge to

comprehensiveness of evaluation.

change the psychological structure.

4.1 Transformation of teaching paradigm

4.4 The relation between teaching and learning Teaching should proceed development, but where is

The traditional teaching paradigm has always been

the boundary between teaching and development? What

teacher-centered, one-way “transmitting” the intensive

level of teaching is appropriate in ZPD? Although we’ve

knowledge of textbooks to students, while students “acquire”

discussed that scaffolding should not be included in

knowledge by remembering the knowledge. However, the

sociocultural theory, I believe that it may be a useful method

new teaching paradigm is that the work of teachers is to

for language teachers to find out the dividing line. Aljaafreh

design the scaffolding for group activities. In this class,

& Lantolf put forward the “regulatory scale”, that is, at the

students construct knowledge in interaction (Zhong, 2018).

beginning, teachers give the most implicit feedback, but if

Teachers do not completely control the classroom. It can be

learners do not respond, gradually provide learners with

said that teachers actively participate in learners’ learning

more explicit feedback until they correct their mistakes

activities and encourage students to form learning by

(Quoted from Wen, 2019).

themselves. The role of teachers in the new teaching paradigm should be regarded as facilitators.

4.2 Learning is a process of meaningful social negotiation

In general, it is important for language teachers to pay more attention to students’ development. As we know that, teachers should individualize the teaching approach to each person’s aptitude, personality and interest. Meanwhile,

“Society” and “construction” are the ideological core

teachers should also realize that the process is dynamic.

of the zone of proximal development theory. Vygotsky

Students’ aptitude is constantly changing, and ZPD will

believes that the psychological process is not a purely

change accordingly. Teaching takes precedence over

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Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED) 4(3)-2022

students’ development, which is an effective teaching method.

REFERENCES [1] Xi, J. (2020). Sociocultural theory and second language acquisition—theory, method and practice. Foreign Language World.

[2] Wen, Q. F. (2019). Major issues in second language acquisition. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

[3] Zhong, Q. Q. (2018). ZPD: the theoretical basis of classroom transformation. Global Education.

[4] Chen, J. (2015). An in-depth interpretation of the value of theoretical education in ZPD. Journal of Teaching and Management.

[5] Xi, J., James P. Lantolf. (2020). Scaffolding and the zone of proximal development: A problematic relationship. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior.

[6] Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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